When should my child start swimming lessons?

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports six children drowning in pools and spas last summer in Tennessee.

What can you do to keep your child safe? Teach them how to swim.

“When they start swimming earlier, maybe six months to three years of age, what they’re going to do is get comfortable, but what you can also do is teach them things like rolling over and floating,” said Gina Campbell, aquatics and safety coordinator at The Lift. 

But even when they do know how to swim, you still need to watch them.

“Just because you know how to swim doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of danger,” Campbell said. “It’s actively watching and maintaining supervision of your children regardless of where they are.”

What happens when your child is in the pool and they have an issue?

“One of the biggest things that we teach is backfloats,” Campbell said. “Backfloats are one of the most important things that any child can learn, because if they’re exhausted and they can’t reach the wall, that’s something they can do to rest.”

Lastly, she said to practice.

“Parents will come up to me and ask how quickly their kid will learn how to swim,” Campbell said. “It is dependent on the child, and it is dependent on how often they go. If the parent is very invested in teaching them how and teaching them the right ways to do it, then the kid will learn that much faster, and it will be really beneficial to them.”

It may even save their lives.

For more safety tips, visit www.poolsafely.gov.